The Last Dance: 1 (Detective Miller Novels)

Product Information

Brimming with wit, expertly paced, and wholly enjoyable — The Last Dance is a showcase of Billingham’s exceptionally gifted storytelling. Mark Billingham is at his best!”— Karin Slaughter, New York Times bestselling author of the Will Trent series Billingham has clearly enjoyed the challenge of exploring new territory and portraying new characters. His fans may rest assured that his highly accomplished performance deserves a big fat ten. * The Times * The opening of the first of this new series by Mark Billingham gives a taste of the style of this book - serious and sardonic - and the setting for the double murders which take place at the Sands Hotel. Despite a somewhat dubious relationship with both reality and his new partner, can the eccentric, offbeat Miller find answers where his colleagues have found only an impossible puzzle? [ My Review ]

I kept thinking of the quote by Fran Lebowitz while I read this book, “A book is not supposed to be a mirror. It’s supposed to be a door.” With that in mind, the fact that this author wanted to write a “humorous” book is not enough. I cannot believe the amount of stars this book has received. It is truly perplexing.

OK, well . . . thank you all for coming.’ He manufactured that smile he’d been practising in the mirror before leaving the house. ‘I’ll try to keep this brief because we’ve all got crimes to solve . . . alcohol habits to support, gambling debts to pay off, whatever. So, just to say, my wife Alex, who some of you knew, is dead. She’s . . . dead. It’s a pisser, but there you are. A double murder in a seaside hotel sees grieving Detective Miller return to work to solve what appears to be a case of mistaken identity.

Miller uses sarcasm and wit as a tool of his trade but underneath this humorous front is a man grieving and looking for justice. In parallel with his current case, he starts to unravel a few bits about his wife’s untimely death, leaving the series very much open for book 2. The narrative follows Declan’s, often eccentric, investigation into the double murder, whilst, at the same time, he attempts to glean information from the team investigating Alex’s murder. He manages to obtain information pertaining to the latter, although it poses more questions than answers. Even conversations with Alex's "ghost" don't get him much further. Author Mark Billingham has been involved in many creative endeavors over the years. In his early days, he worked as an actor and as a stand-up comedian. These days he is known primarily for his successful DI Tom Thorne series along with standalones like Rabbit Hole. In his spare time, Billingham is a member of the Fun Lovin’ Crime Writers, a band composed of several crime authors performing classics like ‘I Fought the Law’ by The Clash. These varied activities appear to have influenced The Last Dance, first in his proposed new series about Detective Sergeant Declan Miller.Almost immediately, he meets his new partner and is handed a double homicide case by his DI. The case takes him to a local motel where two men have been killed, shot in the head. They occupied adjacent rooms but were apparently unrelated and unknown to one another. The nature of the case leads them into a lion’s den because one of the dead men is a known gangster who could have any number of enemies willing to put a bullet in his head.

The Last Dance by Mark Billingham publishes May 25th with Sphere Books. It is the first new series from Mark Billingham in 20 years introducing us to Detective Declan Miller, a man who has been through the ringer in recent times. Brimming with wit, expertly paced, and wholly enjoyable - The Last Dance is a showcase of Billingham's exceptionally gifted storytelling. Mark Billingham is at his best! * Karin Slaughter * THE AUTHOR: Mark Billingham was born and brought up in Birmingham. Having worked for some years as an actor and more recently as a TV writer and stand-up comedian his first crime novel was published in 2001. Mark lives in North London with his wife and two children. Readers rejoice! A captivating new series from Mark Billingham, the very best in the business' --- RICHARD OSMAN

About Mark Billingham

Detective Miller is a flawed individual with a heart of gold that isn’t always on show. His mannerisms and uncooperative tendencies drive his superiors mad but their frustrations are often fruitless as Miller gets results. as he sauntered across the office. Sauntered, which was bloody ridiculous and only went to prove that he was brimming with misplaced confidence. Miller might have ambled now and again and may even have meandered on occasion, but he had never been one for sauntering anywhere. He was more of a lolloper.” In the beginning, I was a little frustrated at Miller’s jokiness, that often seemed out of place (and was), but as I got to know him, I appreciated him and – dare I say it? – his professionalism. There is nothing slapdash about his attitude to crime. He’s a cop for the right reasons. This ends with a cliffhanger of sorts, so readers are poised for the next in the series, but for me it also ended with a smidge of disappointment that I was saying goodbye to Dec Miller… even just for now. Funnily I had notes here for the publishers about a big loophole I had found in the first few chapters, but by the end it turned out to be the twist to discovering who the killer was,